Page 75 of The Fighter

Sure. I can predict how that’ll go. Tomas will be fully clothed, dressed in one of his impeccable suits, and I’ll be utterly naked.

The thought shouldn’t send a bolt of heat through my body.

But it does.

You can’t make out with Tomas—his parents’ bedroom is next door. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Gabriel d’Este offered us his protection.” He fills me in on the conversation that he had with the other man. “We’ll meet Laurenti tomorrow night, as planned. But if my existence isn’t enough to convince him to leave you alone, Gabriel’s support will be. There’s only a small handful of people in the world with enough power to challenge him.”

“My father is already in Valencia, then,” I say, my heart breaking a little. If Gabriel d’Este isn’t part of the mafia, he’s mafia-adjacent. And Vidone went to see him. Kiss the ring, as Tomas put it. I can’t bury my head in the sand any longer and pretend that my father is unconnected to this dangerous world.

He hugs me into his body. “I’m sorry, dolcezza.”

I breathe in the warm, comforting smell of him. “It’s okay. I didn’t know him anyway. I just hoped…” My voice trails off. I bury my head in his neck, and it’s a minute before I can speak again. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

He brushes a soft kiss over my lips. “What can I do to make you feel better?”

He asked me that question Friday night after we got back from Casanova. He told me I looked stressed and asked me if I’d like an orgasm to help me relax.

And it had.

Tonight though, it’s not going to be enough. Tonight, even Tomas can’t distract me from my thoughts.

It’s dark. I can’t see his expression. Maybe that gives me the courage to finally ask the question that’s been uppermost on my mind all week. “Why are you here?” I whisper. “Why are you helping me? Why do you care?”

He laughs disbelievingly. “Ali, do you even have to ask why? Isn’t it obvious?”

My lonely, hopeful heart offers me an answer, but I don’t trust it. It’s desperate and greedy for everything Tomas has to offer. It wants love and togetherness, family and laughter. It wants it so much that it will believe anything.

I need the words I want to say. Tell me why. Please don’t make me guess.

But I’ve used up all my bravery for the night, and I can’t make the words leave my mouth. The silence stretches between us, long and fraught, and eventually, we both fall asleep.

Tomas is up before I am the next morning. I wander downstairs to find him laughing and in a rapid-fire Spanish conversation with his father. “My mom had to go in early,” he says. “But she left behind pretty specific instructions. I’m to show you around the city, paying a special emphasis on potential engagement party venues.” He grins. “Want to start with the beach?”

Venice has a beach, all the way in Lido. In the last two years, I’ve managed to visit it once. There’s always something to do at the gym.

Tomas says ‘potential engagement party venues’ without flinching. I can either spend the next few days fretting about what he’s feeling toward me, or I can put all that angst on hold and enjoy the extended weekend.

This is my first vacation in two years. The circumstances are far from ideal, but I’m going to make the best of it. Starting with the ocean right outside the door.

“Let’s go.”

We get coffee and croissants at a restaurant overlooking the beach. “Restaurants on the water are tourist traps,” Tomas grumbles as we stand in line.

“I don’t care.”

We find a spot on the sand for an impromptu breakfast picnic. Tourist trap or not, my croissant is delicious. “Remember, you have to save room for esmorzaret,” Tomas warns as I contemplate standing in line for another one. “Carlota will never let me hear the end of it if I don’t bring you to the market.”

“Oh God, not another meal,” I groan. “Don’t get me wrong. I love everything I’ve eaten so far, and I’m pretty sure I’ll devour everything your sister is going to put in front of me. But at the rate I’m going, I’m not going to be in any shape to fight next week.”

He gives me a slow once-over. “There’s nothing wrong with your shape, dolcezza. Nothing at all. Your shape kept me up all night with a hard-on.”

I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. “I had a sex dream about you,” I admit.

“Did you now?” His eyebrow quirks up. “What were we doing?”

“I’m not going to tell you. How far away is the market if we walk?”

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